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The news
A senior Queensland minister has sought to discredit the Australian chapter of a global anti-corruption organisation in response to revelations by this masthead of a suite of quiet board appointments by his government since the state election.
Education and Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek, a former LNP opposition leader, was asked about board appointment reforms recently reiterated by Transparency International Australia chair Dr AJ Brown at a Friday morning media conference.
Queensland Education and Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek in parliament earlier this year.Credit: Jamila Filippone
Langbroek described the identity of the group, launched in 1995 to raise awareness of corruption and combat it, as “murky” and suggested it was only suggesting improvements now the LNP was in government in the state.
The comments have sparked a swift rebuke from the group’s chief executive, as the Labor opposition described the scale of the previously unknown changes to governments boards as delving beneath what had been “just the tip of the iceberg”.
Why it matters
David Crisafulli’s first-term LNP government has been criticised for handing out “jobs for mates” – board roles for former politicians, candidates and those with other connections to the party – although the premier himself has insisted all new appointees had “the right skill set”.
Many have been revealed by ministers in Friday afternoon statements emailed to media. But an investigation by this masthead has found most were not – with 20 appointees also being former LNP or Liberal politicians, candidates or party executive members.
Thirteen of these were not named in a formal ministerial announcement, with 10 previously unreported. The lack of transparency has prompted concern from ex-board members and a previous conservative premier, amid calls to reform the processes wielded by both major parties in power.
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This masthead does not suggest any appointees are not qualified or suitable for their roles, only that their appointments were not announced by the government.
What they said
The government did not address questions on Thursday about the reason ministerial media releases were not used to announce two-thirds of updates to 115 of the state’s 320 government-appointed boards.
Asked at a Friday morning media conference in Brisbane’s east, Langbroek said all were announced in the government gazette as required.
When pressed on why some were also then touted by the relevant minister, he said it depended on the role and whether appointments were made by an individual minister or the cabinet.
Langbroek also defended the appointments of two former state LNP figures recently gaining board roles within his portfolios – including past Oodgeroo MP and self-described Christian conservative Mark Robinson on the Queensland Museum Board.
“I think anyone questioning his qualifications to be on the Queensland Museum board … [there] would seriously be questions whether they’ve got some sort of appointment bias if they’re going to say that someone with degrees in marine biology and zoology should not be part of the Queensland Museum,” Langbroek said.
He described Ian Walker, a lawyer and Newman government arts minister appointed to chair the Queensland Performing Arts Trust which governs QPAC, as someone eminently qualified for the role with “a history of attendance as a paid attender of artistic events”.
Asked about reforms proposed by Brown intended to address actions of both sides of politics – such as public advertising of roles and selection criteria, along with independent verification of candidate merit assessments – Langbroek criticised the group.
“I think it’s actually a little murky as to ... who they are,” he said. “I would be interested to hear from Transparency Australia why we didn’t hear any of these queries about Labor appointments over the last decade.
“I don’t remember Transparency Australia coming out and speaking about those things over the last nine years, eight months and 26 days. But if Transparency Australia would like to make an appointment to see me, I’d be interested to talk to them and ask them some of the questions about their actions over the last decade.”
Another perspective
Clancy Moore, Transparency International Australia’s chief executive, said the group was strictly non-partisan and undertakes research and advocacy, mostly at a national level, to “strengthen integrity systems and hold governments of all stripes to account”.
“Over the years, we have called out the former ALP government in Queensland on ‘cash for access’ payments and lobbying transparency. We’re also on the record calling for reforms to stamp out corruption linked to the CFMEU in Victoria,” Moore told this masthead.
“When governments don’t ensure public service appointments are based on merit and transparency it can lead to people losing trust in democracy and the political system.”
The Labor opposition’s integrity spokesperson, Leeanne Enoch, said: “clearly the truth hurts and that’s why Minister Langbroek is so defensive.”
“The LNP’s jobs for mates scandal was already outrageous, but now, incredibly, we learn it was just the tip of the iceberg.”
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